A few simple photography tips to make your ride look its best

Fancy posting you car on Instagram? A few small tweaks to your technique goes a long way

When it comes to automotive photography, make the side profile your money shot — and shoot during sunrise or sunset.Nick Tragianis / Driving

So, the camera roll on your smartphone is chronically full and most of the snaps are of your car from various angles, but each time you upload one to social media, the response is lackluster. You and your mom might think you photos are A+, but the truth is, there’s art to taking pictures — and even more so when it comes to nailing something as specialized as automotive photography. Luckily, there are a handful of ways to easily improve your shots.

We sat down with Zach Brehl on Instagram, where his audience of over 123,000 automotive photography fans show their appreciation for his stellar skill behind the lens, one double tap at a time. While Brehl is Toronto-based, his photography gig takes him around the globe — when we spoke, he was escaping Canadian pre-winter weather in Miami.

Try Brehl’s advice below, and your car photos might just lose their amateur look. We’re not saying your account will blow up overnight into a viable automotive photography business — that takes years of hard work and skill — but hopefully you’ll score a few extra likes at the very least.

Weather is important, too

“Cloudy days provide a nice, diffused light that evenly brings out most angles and contours,” says Brehl. Bright sunlight, on the other hand, can offer a unique look with heavy shadows and a bold contrast.

Pay attention to where you’ve got your car parked

“For me, location is everything,” says Brehl. “I love to look for unique places that provide lots of contrast to the subject, like an extremely modern car paired with a historic landmark.” Spots that look tricky to get to can also make for interesting backdrops as they pique viewers’ interest.

Get. It. Clean.

No one wants to see windows covered in fingerprints or salt stains decorating the exterior. Brehl recommends keeping some detailing products on hand, in case you find yourself in a cool location and want to capture a shot.

Don’t be afraid to get behind the wheel

Not only does sitting in the driver’s seat and shooting the dashboard and wheel provide an interesting perspective, but it’s a great way to show off a unique dash colour or something historic and unique.

Photographing one car at a time is best

Brehl tries to focus on one car at a time in order to highlight individual details. “Occasionally I’ll shoot a group of cars, and if I do, I’ll usually coordinate them based off of significance and colour,” he says.

Want to take your photography skills next level?

Here’s what’s in Brehl’s photography kit: A Nikon D850 camera and five lenses — a Sigma 50-millimetre 1.4 and three Nikkor lenses, including 70-200-millimetre 2.8, a 20-millimetre 1.8, a 16-35-millimetre and an 85-millimetre 1.8.